Nucleic Acids Encoding Anthelmintic Agents And Plants Made Therefrom

A method of screening a transgenic plant for anthelmintic activity, comprising contacting tissue from a transgenic plant, with a plurality of nematodes under conditions effective to determine whether or not said plant tissue has anthelmintic activity, wherein said transgenic plant contains at least one DNA construct, said construct comprising:

• a) a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide effective for catalysing the conversion of a substrate to a C16, C18, or C20 monounsaturated fatty acid product selected from the group consisting of:
• i)
• wherein X is hydrogen, CoA, glycerol, a monoglyceride, a diglyceride, ACP, methyl, Na+, phosphatidylcholine, or phosphatidylethanolamine, wherein both R1 and R2 are hydroxyl, one of R1 and R2 is hydroxyl and the other is hydrogen, or one of R1 and R2 is keto and the other is hydrogen, and wherein R3 is C2, C4, or C6 alkyl;
• and
• ii)
• wherein X is hydrogen, CoA, glycerol, a monoglyceride, a diglyceride, ACP, methyl, Na+, phosphatidylcholine, or phosphatidylethanolamine, and wherein R3 is C2, C4, or C6 alkyl;
• and
• (b) a regulatory element operably linked to said nucleic acid encoding said polypeptide, wherein said regulatory element confers expression in a vegetative tissue of said plant.